When someone says “federal government paperwork,” do you immediately get writer’s cramp? You’re not alone. Last year, Americans had to spend 8.4 billion hours filling out federal government paperwork, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended, every year OMB presents an estimate to Congress of the amount of time Americans spend filling out government paperwork. This year the number was 8.4 billion. For the previous year, 2004, the number was 8.0 billion, representing a 5.5 percent increase in the amount of government paperwork.

Didn’t that law say “Paperwork Reduction Act”?

What’s more, OMB estimates the burden of filling out all that paperwork will increase to 8.7 billion hours in 2006. However, this expected rise does not reflect any real change in the burden on taxpayers, but only in how the Internal Revenue Service estimates its paperwork burden, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

And that is important, since 76 percent of the time Americans spend filling out government paperwork, or 6.4 billion hours, is attributable to the IRS. And that number might be underestimated, because for 2006, the IRS has changed the way it estimates the paperwork burden it imposes on Americans, and the number is expected to increase even before taking into account any changes in the actual paperwork.

The GAO found that while the IRS was very good at streamlining its paperwork and making tax returns easier to file, other federal agencies were not so good at reducing the paperwork burden on citizens.

The PRA requires that [federal agency chief information officers] review information collections and certify that they meet standards to minimize burden and maximize utility; however, these reviews were not always rigorous, reducing assurance that these standards were met. In 12 case studies at four agencies, GAO determined that CIOs certified collections proposed by program offices despite missing or inadequate support. Providing support for certifications is a CIO responsibility under the PRA, but agency files contained little evidence that CIO reviewers had made efforts to improve the support offered by program offices. Numerous factors contributed to these problems, including a lack of management attention and weaknesses in OMB guidance. — Paperwork Reduction Act: Increase in Estimated Burden Hours Highlights Need for New Approach (PDF)

In addition, new government programs being introduced every year continue to add to the paperwork burden.

The net result has been, despite the act’s intention to reduce the amount of paperwork Americans have to fill out, and the time wasted doing so, government paperwork has exploded over the past several years.

And that’s why your wrist is so sore.